The present invention relates to the integration of aircraft systems. In particular, the invention relates to a system box for accommodating aircraft systems, to a modular kit comprising such system boxes, to the use of a system box in an aircraft, and to an aircraft comprising such a system box.
Accommodation compartments for crewmembers of an aircraft (crew), also called crew rest compartments (CRCs), form part of the prescribed facilities of aircraft in the case of long-duration flights. For example, according to international standards one berth for the flight crew (pilots) is required for flights of a duration of between 8 and 14 hours, and two births for flights exceeding 14 hours.
Such rest zones for the flight crew of long-range commercial aircraft can be arranged above the cabin, i.e. in the ceiling area, as overhead crew rest compartments. This region is often described as the crown area of the aircraft. In order to ensure installation of these rest zones, it is necessary, in aircraft, to provide systems such as for example the electrics, oxygen supply and air-conditioning such that minimum clearances between different systems can be observed. Furthermore, a holder for the structural connection of the crew rest compartment must be provided, as must the integration and structural connection of the systems in the upper part of the fuselage.
Known techniques for connecting the crew rest compartment to the aircraft structure, which hereafter is also designated the primary structure, comprise the installation of various supports and tie rods and corresponding connection elements. The development, design, construction and installation of these structures is correspondingly complex. Further integration of aircraft systems, for example electrics or air conditioning, is correspondingly difficult because time and again braces extend transversely to the normal system paths. This also means that a modular combination of crew rest compartments or of various systems comprising crew rest compartments is associated with considerable expenditure in time and work. This solution is also not optimal from the point of view of weight.